Siren's Voice
by Karaten
Summary: In X790, a guild known for taking barely legal jobs has suddenly risen to prominence with the arrival of a new guildmaster and the cleaning up of its acts. Now, it takes on only legal jobs and is known as a beacon of light and hope in a corner of Fiore that had only known darkness. This is the story of Siren's Voice! - NO LONGER UPDATING! PLEASE CHECK OUT REBOOT/RESET
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello, people of the Internet! My name is Karaten, as you can see if you clicked on this story to begin with, and this is my very first venture upon this lovely website. As you can tell, this is a SYOC Fairy Tail Guild story. So please, feel free to send in your own OC using the template that is on my profile as you'd see when you click upon my name. Oh, and make sure to follow the rules for the characters as well, please! With that in mind, a small note that the story as you see here is set 3 years before the actual start of the story, to give you just some background on some characters as well as the descriptions of the guild and town itself. So, when you make your character, make sure they are aged to X790, not X787.**

 **Fairy Tail is owned by Hiro Mashima and such.**

 **Kaltania Embers - Karaten**

 **Kain Embers - Karaten**

 **Dogwood Town  
July 7th, X787**

In the Kingdom of Fiore, in the small town of Dogwood, which lay just south of Oak Town, there was a legal wizard's guild, (though most of the other guilds in their league were loathe to call them that), known as Siren's Voice. Their guild building was rather average for a building. It consisted of three floors with only two visible, with a flat roof and wooden exterior. A single banner rested over top of the front and above the door, with the name of the guild imposed over a larger version of the guild's mark, an outline of a raindrop with an aquatic creature curled up into a ball. The inside wasn't much better. There was no bar, nor anything remotely considered "fun". Instead, a meager amount of tables were set up for people to lounge around while the request board took front stage at the back of the room.

On the second floor (really, the third if you included the basement), if one asked themselves "what would the throne room of a snobby queen look like?", the answer would be found here, in this out-of-the-way, small town in a guild's hall. A large, imposing black throne was set up at the back, spiked at the back, with only one occupant. The tallest woman the guild has ever known, brunette, with dark stormy grey eyes that were also seemingly locked into the sneer her mouth twisted into, with her mark bearing the same color on her neck. Kaltania Embers was not a women to be trifled with. And unfortunately, today, someone had trifled her.

"You? Challenge me? How _dare_ you." Hissing at the young man standing in front of her, she stood, letting out a little of her magical energy in an attempt to intimidate him. The aforementioned man, known as Kain Embers, her very own grandson, stood his ground. With blonde hair and blue eyes, you wouldn't be able to tell that they were related. However, the way they squared off against each other, and the way their eyes burned with fury, one righteously and one with hate, there's was no doubt in anyone's minds.

"Yes, you old hag! The way you run this guild is deplorable! No time for rest, no time for fun! All you have us do is go on jobs that are an inch from being declared illegal! The rate we're going, you might as well grow a mustache and call this place Phantom Lord because that's how close to Dark we're becoming. And I refuse to let this guild, my home, to go to waste like that! So, I'll repeat myself. I, Kain Lysander Embers, challenge you, Kaltania Alessandra Embers, for the right to be known as guild master. Normal rules." Kain replied, clenching his fists and trying not to shout as he didn't want to attract more attention. The white sweater tied around his waist blew back in the wind generated by his grandmother, his baggy pants as well. He wore a sleeveless white tank top, which showed off his bright red guild's mark on his right shoulder.

For a moment, the entire guild was silent, with only the creaking wood to be heard, before condescending laughter rumbled the very foundations of the guild. Kaltania grabbed her stomach to try to hold it in (or something) before lunging forward to grip her grandson's shoulder, the both of them whooshing away in a quick Teleport spell, causing the members surrounding the scene to gasp and/or whine at the lack of entertainment before dispersing back to their normal duties. 

* * *

Meanwhile, the pair reemerged on the other side of the spell in a forest clearing, big enough for the two of them to fight in. Kain jumped backwards, growling as he tried to shake off the aftereffects of the spell. Kaltania simply smirked.

"Insolent boy. You really want this?" She sneered, driving her right fist into her left palm and cracking her knuckles. Kain simply smirked, throwing his palms out dramatically and allowing the frost drift upwards off of his palms.

"I'm going to kick your ass, witch. And then Siren's Voice will become the guild it deserve to be." He boasted loudly, magical energy starting to leak out of him, starting to whip up the windstorm more, alongside his grandmother. If there was anything the Embers family was known for, it was that their magical containers were large - and these two were titans in comparison.

And suddenly, in a heap of magical power felt across the kingdom, the two titans clashed against each other.

And Fiore would be forever changed by the outcome of this one battle.

 **A/N: And, fin! I know it's a short one, but I didn't want to give away too much about the magics of these two very important characters. One will be revealed in the next chapter and the other...well, who knows? I do, but I'm not telling! Anyways, I hoped you enjoyed the very first chapter of my very first venture and I bid you all Adieu.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: So, introducing three OCs this time, though only two are of the guild proper. That and I really wanted to establish the differences of the guild between before and present-day. So, here we go!**

 **Fairy Tail is owned by Hiro Mashima and such.**

 **Anya Massing - Karaten  
**

 **Victor and Allan Brenn - FairyTailNut**

 **Dogwood Town** **  
**

 **July 7th, X790**

It's been three years since Kain Embers somehow beat his grandmother in a duel for the position of guildmaster and a lot of changes have occurred within the guild. The throne Kaltania had used to reign over the guild was gone, replaced by a large job request board, specifically for the S-Classes, while more tables now littered that floor. Meanwhile, more tables had been added to the first floor as well as a bar, with shelves for drinks behind it. The outside and inside of the building had been painted with a light white while everything just seemed to have a more cheery mood. The biggest change, perhaps, was with the guildmaster himself. Kain now wore a white cloak over a long-sleeved, grey button-up, with black pants and combat boots. Holding the cloak together was a peculiar clasp, with a cross adorning it. Yes, in the three years since his take-over, he'd been recognized as one of the Ten Wizard Saints of Fiore, albeit only in 10th. His hair had grown out, such that he now had a ponytail resting over the rest of his hair. As well, a scar, resembling a tiger's scratch, went across his left eye in a vertical fashion, though he still had the eye. He currently was nursing a bottle of sake while deep in conversation with a young girl, around 17, with dark blue hair, wearing a crop top under a red leather vest, with short shorts, and thigh high socks and sneakers. Her guild mark was a deep violet, visible on her stomach.

"Master! It's only one in the afternoon! Are you sure you should be drinking?" She asked, hands on her hips in a motherly fashion. Kain simply took another swig of his bottle and waved his hand at the girl, clearly not worried at all.

"Anya, Anya, Anya. Don't you know it's always time for a drink? Relax a bit, have a drink!" He slurred, holding the bottle out to Anya, who accepted it with a false smile, before gripping the bottle tightly, a small magic seal appearing over it. Frost drifted up into the air before she released the bottle, the glass and sake inside having been turned to ice, and handed it back to the master. He ogled her handiwork, before a grin split his face.

"Wow! You've been working real hard on your Blizzard Magic, Anya. Good job!" He praised before taking a large bite out of the iced bottle, chewing thoughtfully and swallowing before making a face. "Though you could make it a bit tastier, y'know!"

"It's not meant to be tasty!" She shouted, slapping the man across the back of his head, only earning a chuckle from him as he finished eating the ice. She sighed, placing her face in her palm. "Why did I join this guild again?"

"Shihi, it's because I am the premier Ice mage in all of Fiore. After all, I am "Frost Giant" Kain, the best Ice Dragon Slayer in the country!" Kain proclaimed, pointing to the roof dramatically before falling backwards on the table, giggling slightly immaturely. Anya groaned, about to retort, when the front doors to the guild hall opened, letting the warm sunshine filter through the hall. Many of the already drunk members loudly groaned about the sudden brightness, when a shadow fell across the entrance. Both Anya and Kain perked up at seeing who it was.

A young man, around 20-ish, with windswept, shaggy blonde hair stood in the center of the doorway. He wore a gray cloak over a tank-top-esque chestplate, with leather pants and simple tennis shoes. The man had a smirk on his face, looking around the room, hefting his rucksack over his shoulder. The silence was immediately broken by Kain's loud guffaw at the new arrival.

"Ha! See, Anya! There's the reason why you joined! It's always interesting!" He crowed to the girl, staggering to his feet and walking over to the man, who stood a good couple of inches above the master. They both stared at each other for the longest time, a slight wind even blowing through the open door, before the moment was cut by the two men clasping each other by the wrists. On the man's back, exposed by the sleeveless chestplate, was a silver mark of the guild's emblem.

"Victor Brenn! What in God's name are you doing back here in the middle of summer? I thought you were visiting your brother?" Kain said loudly, causing the younger man's smirk to falter for only the slightest of moments, noticeable to Kain up close, before it was firmly put back into the place. The two separated, with Vic putting his free hand behind his hand.

"Y'know, I just couldn't shake the feeling that you were utterly helpless in keeping this lot in line while I was gone, so here I am, old man." He replied, grinning almost impishly, as if he knew what the master's reaction would be. Even Anya slightly winced upon hearing the statement. Kain took a deep breath, rolling his jaw in irritation before opening his mouth to reply. Of course, in that moment, a fist had already roughly planted itself in Vic's head, creating a comical red bump, and making the man drop his rucksack and clutch his head in pain.

"Owowow! What'd you do that for, Al?!" He whined, hunched over, tears comically streaming down his face. From behind Vic stepped an older version of Victor, only wearing blue overalls over a white collar shirt, and having slightly longer blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail. He also had thin-frame glasses, prescription by the looks of it.

"What've I told you about respect, dammit?! Have I taught you nothing?!" Allan Brenn said harshly, crossing his arms over his chest and frowning down at his sibling before immediately shifting into a bright smile at Kain and holding out his hand for a shake, which Kain took. "Allan Brenn, at your service, Master Embers. Elder brother of this idiot."

Kain smirked. "Good to see that there's someone who can control him. Please, call me Kain. Now, what brings you all the way out here, _Monsieur_ Brenn?"

"I asked Vic to bring me here. I wanted to see this "Siren's Voice" that he's ranted and raved about for the past two summers." Allan replied, smiling politely as he stepped in past the master, immediately ducking under a thrown mug as it seems the traditional one o'clock bar fight had begun. "And please, call me Allan, or Al."

"Oi, you jackasses! Don't throw shit at my brother!" Vic yelled, having finally recovered from the hit from Allan, and threw himself into the fight. Anya was visible in the crowd, pouring beers - or rather, hitting them with partially frozen beers - on peoples' heads. Kain and Allan both looked on as the fight got louder and more exciting.

"Well, the things you do for family, right?" Allan said fondly before throwing himself into the fight to both defend his own honor and to help his brother out. Kain simply stood there, the smile fading from his face at the mention of family before turning on his heel and vanishing out the door. Only Anya managed to catch this, and frowned briefly before throwing herself back into the fight.

* * *

Kaltania Embers' life had changed quite dramatically over the three years.

Her once brunette hair had turned a dark shade of gray, her face now contained more wrinkles, and she used a piece of wood, fashioned into a walking stick, to help her move around. Instead of living in the Guild Master's quarters, lavish and containing everything you'd ever want for luxury, she now lived in a wooden cabin on the outskirts of town, hunting for food and cutting down trees for warmth. Currently, she was moving - or rather, levitating - logs of wood onto piles in preparation for the coming autumn and winter. She had just finished setting up the last pile of the most recent set of logs when she felt a presence behind her.

" _Qui est lá?"_ She said hoarsely, her arm glowing with her Density Control Magic.

" _C'est moi, grand-mére."_ Kain's voice answered quietly.

" _Pourquoi es-tu ici?"_ She growled, shuffling over to a nearby grove of trees, intending to start cutting them down.

"You know why I'm here, Grandmother." Kain replied, just as softly as before, only switching to Fiore Basic.

Kaltania stiffened, frozen mid-swing. Anger flooded through her at this...this impudent _jeune homme!_ She whipped around, the brown, ragged, dirty cloak whipping around with her, her glare containing enough venom to poison a giant Vulcan.

"You come to check up on me? What, out of pity?!" She all but roared, causing quite a few birds to squawk loudly in starlement and fly off. Kain kept steady, having been standing in the center of the clearing just in front of the house.

"No, _grand-mére._ I come because you are my family...my only family left. And to ask again for you to reconsider my offer." He said softly, hands shoved in his pockets, eyes fixed into a pleading stare at his grandmother. Kaltania held eye contact, before a sudden vision of a younger, cuter, toddler Kain imposed itself over the current adult Kain and forced her to turn away.

"I don't need your help, brat." She snarled. "Not after what you did."

Kain closed his eyes, even as she brought attention to the reason Kain felt such guilt. Everything below her right knee was gone, having been shattered by Kain in their duel years before, now replaced by a frozen prosthetic created and maintained by Kain himself. She simply huffed at his reaction before turning away and returning to her work, effectively ending the conversation.

Kain stared at her back for a few more seconds before turning around and walking back the way he came.

Kaltania's face softened as she felt his presence slowly disappear.

 _I don't need your help, petite aile. Nor your forgiveness._

 **A/N: Yes, there you have it, folks. Chapter 2 of this story, finally done! And honestly, I feel like doing these short chapters for these introduction chapters in order to really introduce ideas and concepts that will go on in the series. Especially when I'm kinda light on the submitted OCs right now, so there's that.**

 **First things first, the reveals of the magics for the grandmother/grandson dynamic duo and the "where are they now" after three years! So, Kain is a Dragon Slayer! Mainly cause I've not seen a guildmaster be a Slayer and I took the Ice element for it as it was the most obvious one for him, to me at least. Also, I made him a Wizard Saint! Yeah, that's right. I wanted to show progression after three years in terms of power so yeah! Obviously, not canon and all that.**

 **Onto Grandma Kaltonia and the language thing. So her magic is what I call Density Control. Basically, she can make her own atoms very dense, so as to hit harder, or more spread out, allowing her to phase through things, ala Vision. As for the ice prosthetic, it gives them more reason to talk beyond just "you were evil" and stuff.**

 **The language. Kaltonia was born and raised in the region that would later become Alvarez. In my own head, each region of the FT world that I know of corresponds to an actual real life location and culture.**

 **Fiore = English/Japanese**

 **Bosco = Spanish**

 **Alvarez/Pre-Alvarez = French**

 **Except they don't call it those languages.**

 **English = Fiore Basic**

 **Spanish = Bosque**

 **French = Alvarezii**

 **And since she is a native speaker of Alvarezii, it's obvious to me that she would teach her child and her child would teach her grandchild. So there.**

 **Also, translations!**

 **Qui est la = Who is there?**

 **C'est moi, grand-mere = It's me, Grandma  
**

 **Pourquoi es-tu ici? = Why are you here?**

 **Petite aile = Little Wing**

 **Alright, for the finale of this A/N, I have a Question of the Chapter for you guys to answer in the reviews!**

 **What generation of Dragon Slayer is Kain?**

 **Winner gets...something, I dunno.**

 **Also, review, and send in OCs if you haven't already! Please, I need them!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Look, it's Chapter 3! Yeet! Alrighty then, thanks to Origm2012 and FairyTailNut for your reviews of the last chapter and especially to Origm2012 for the advice! It was really appreciated!**

 **Ferio, Maria, Sofia, and Santino Sands – Origm2012**

 **Charlotte Armand and Iov-Pater – The Imposter**

 **Singe, Frank, and Dim - Karaten**

 **Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima!**

Chapter 3: The Sounds of Home

"….And there's our S-Class Mission Board. Those missions are for mages with exceptional talent, as those are extremely dangerous missions. And that about covers the extent of our guild." Anya finished explaining, glancing over at Allan, who seemed halfway between interested and distracted. Which was fair, considering Vic was currently side-eying the Freeze Mage. In fact, the slightest amount of drool was slipping out of his mouth.

Anya pinched the bridge of her nose before walking over to stand directly in front of the B-Rank wizard, who stared blankly ahead at her. A small smirk appeared on his face, carrying over into his eyes, giving him a sleazy-ish expression.

"Hey, girl, like what you're – mmPH!" He stopped mid-pick-up line due to a block of ice suddenly surrounding his head. Allan looked the right amount of alarmed as Anya silently stood in front of his younger brother, palm outstretched, still releasing frosty air from him.

"Is…he'll be fine, right?" Allan said warily, not sure how to handle this. On one hand, he knew exactly what kind of magic Vic practiced and that he'd figure out how to get out. On the other, more brotherly hand, he wanted to break the cube and then have a sternly worded conversation with the female mage.

Vic, meanwhile, was pulling on the cube, trying to get it off traditionally before pulling one of his arms back, a dark orange magic seal appearing over it. Black-colored, solid rock covered it before he smashed it into the cube, causing it to smash and allowing him to breathe. Anya simply raised an eyebrow at him.

"Why, you….!" Vic growled, mock-angrily, raising the rock-covered fist to retaliate when he suddenly slid backwards, seemingly pulled away by the air. Allan blinked while Anya cringed, closing one eye as she slowly turned around to the person noticeably looming over her.

Ferio Sands was…interesting, to say the least. His dark blue hair fell over his olive complexion. He had a red bracelet on his left forearm, bearing the sigil of the Sands family. He wears a black and red, traditionally Boscan armor, with a red cape covering his back, over a muscular body. A key ring, with three black rings rested on his belt. Standing next to him was a red lion, coming up to the man's waist in terms of height.

"A-Aha, hey….Ferio…." Anya chuckled nervously, rubbing at her head and looking anywhere but at the man. Allan wasn't sure what to make of this one-eighty in personality.

"Miss Anya, you know that fighting in the hall is forbidden. Please don't make me report you to the Master. _Again._ " The man said firmly and sternly, arms crossed over his chest. Anya nodded meekly before the man turned to Allan, a ghost of a smile appearing on his face.

"I'm sorry about handling your younger brother like that, _Señor_ Brenn. It is habit to have to separate these two by force." Ferio explained, holding out his hand to shake. "Though I must admit, they are mild compared to my own siblings. You can call me Ferio."

Allan took the hand, shaking it firmly with a grin of his own. "Don't worry about it, dude. That's usually how I handle Vic. Just…without magic and stuff. Please, call me Allan."

Ferio had just finished nodding when the doors to the guild hall burst open, revealing two short figures in the doorway.

To Allan, they looked like younger versions of Ferio, though one was female. The two had olive complexion like the authoritative figure in front of him. They both had dark blue hair, the female having much longer and silky-looking hair and the male having a shaggier and messier version. The boy wore a black tank top with red lining, with a black jacket tied firmly around his waist, with matching pants and boots. The girl wore a black sweater over a red skirt. Both of them wore similar bracelets around their right wrists and each had a red guild's mark on the left hand for the girl and the right hand for the boy. However, the most important thing Allan could see was in their facial expressions.

They were _terrified._

In a whoosh of air, Ferio was crouched in front of them, the lion just as frantic. The cat pressed himself against the male, while the elder mage pressed his hands firmly, yet softly on their shoulders, appearing to them as reassuring.

" _Sofy, Santy_ , _¿qué pasa? ¿Dónde está Maria?"_ Ferio asked in rapid-fire Bosque. The twins were taking deep breaths, trying to compose themselves at least a little, even sharing a look as if they were silently talking over what to say. Finally, Sofia looked up at Ferio, eyes wide with terror.

"It's…..Crimson Skull. There was some dude with red hair and a bat….Maria said to get you." Sofia finally explained, Santino nodding alongside his twin's explanation. Ferio had turned quite stiff upon the mention of the other guild, and especially upon the description of one of the members. He turned stiffly to Vic and Anya, anger evident in his stormy grey eyes. Anya could only feel the same as she realized exactly who the two were talking about.

"Singe." She muttered, feeling anger and confusion well up in her, the same as it did every time _that jackass_ came up in conversation. Ferio's voice cut through her thoughts.

"Do any of you know where Kain is?" He asked, clenching his jaw and his fists, anger clouding through his judgement and respect enough to call the master by his first name. Vic and Allan shared a glance before shrugging, having not seen what Anya had seen.

"He went out." Anya said lightly, with enough emphasis on the last word for Ferio to catch the meaning. The S-Class sighed loudly before turning back to his two siblings, who still looked visibly shaken. The eldest sibling gained a soft, affectionate look, pressing both of his palms on top of their heads, startling them and causing them to look up at him. Ferio spared a glance at Pride as he set his mouth into a grim line, finally stepping past the three huddled up in the doorway.

"Pride, stay with them." The red lion nodded once, before Ferio stopped in his tracks, glancing on either side of him as he realized that Vic and Anya both now flanked him. Warmth flickered through his eyes before turning back into the cold fury.

"Alright then. Let's go."

* * *

In the central plaza of town, a standoff was happening. Civilians were huddled up, pressing themselves against the walls of the shops to not get noticed by any of the mages involved in the confrontation.

Three of them were from Crimson Skull, a guild from the neighboring town of Lilac. Leading the trio was a guy many in Dogwood knew, as he'd once been a member and S-Class mage of Siren's Voice. Singe had pale white skin, wearing a jean vest over a plain black t-shirt, with ripped jeans and boots. His spiky hair was fiery red. He wore black fingerless gloves, shouldering a metal baseball bat with one of them. His guild mark, a skull with a flame as a backdrop, shone crimson on the middle of his left forearm. The other two were generically fat and skinny.

Across from them stood Maria Sands, the middle sibling of the Sands quartet. Her olive complexion and dark blue hair – currently pulled up into a braided ponytail – really contrasted against Singe's look. A black bracelet, similar to Ferio, Sofia and Santino's, rested on her left wrist. She wore a red sleeveless vest over black leggings and boots. An angry frown sat on her face as she glared at Singe and his cronies.

"What do you want, Singe? When the master finds out you're here…" She began threateningly, clenching her fists as the other mage laughed.

"Jyahahaha, that fucking loser? I'm so scared of his damn snowflakes. Look, see, I'm shaking in my boots. Jyahahaha!" Singe crowed, a large grin splitting his face, mocking scorn flittering through his eyes. "In fact, Frank and Dim here could probably take him on, no problem."

" _¡Hijo de puta!_ Say one more damn thing about Kain and I swear to God that I will shove my foot so far up your ass…." Maria growled, clenching her fists and taking an angry step forward. Dim and Frank shifted, appearing to tense in preparation to attack. Singe simply responded by laughing louder while mini-explosions went off around his free hand.

"You wanna finish that threat, bitch?!" He exclaimed before the sounds of footsteps stopped him. The Crimson Skull members turned towards the newcomers, Singe's eyes lighting up when he saw Ferio, Vic, and Anya.

"Ah, it's you fucking rejects. Now the gang's all here!" He said in mock excitement. Ferio stepped closer to Singe, crossing his arms over his chests.

"Singe. I thought we'd made it clear the last time: stay out of Dogwood. For your own good." He said sternly, looking down at the Explosion Mage. Singe simply sneered, venom dripping out of the expression like a snake. Behind him, Maria shifted, not directly looking at her older brother. Frank and Dim shifted to also flank Singe, appearing ready to attack.

Before anyone else could move a muscle, a sharp icy wind blew through the street, preceding the appearance of Kain in between the two groups. Singe ground his teeth together at the new appearance, while Frank and Dim visibly shook. Kain's expression was near apoplectic as he turned his head slightly, his magical power bursting forth a little, causing a small indentation in the concrete plaza.

" _What the hell do you think you're doing in this town, bastard?_ " He hissed angrily, his cloak flapping from the excess magical energy being released, the sleeves of his shirt ripping slightly to reveal light blue scales lining his arms. Singe stood his ground, not even wincing when feeling the magical presence of what most would consider to be a monster. Meanwhile, Frank and Dim had fallen on their asses, shaking in fear.

After a few moments, Singe scowled before turning around, skulking off with Frank and Dim scrambling after him. Kain watched before he let his reserves dial down, causing the Sands siblings and Anya and Vic to let out a breath in relief. It was a few moments after that that someone – that someone being Maria – spoke.

"Kain…? Are you…?" She began hesitantly, stepping forward slightly, reaching out a hand, stopping only when Kain turned around, smirking proudly at his student/friend and the other guild members, who all looked rather put out at the reaction to the events that'd just transpired.

"I'm fine, Maria. Why wouldn't I be fine?" He said, pulling at his shirt sleeves, masking a frown that hit his face upon realizing that his sleeves were ripped and that the scales were showing. He quickly pulled his cloak around him. "I'll be back at the guild if anyone needs me."

He brushed past Maria, stopping briefly to smile fondly at the girl before moving to brush past Ferio, only to be stopped by a firm hand. Kain looked up at one of his closest friends, who simply stared back at the master. A wordless conversation passed between them before Ferio released Kain, who finally left.

"There's no way in hell that bastard is _'just fine'_!" Maria burst out angrily before flinching as Ferio turned his attention back to his younger sister, a small frown plastered across his face. "Look, Ferio, I knew confronting them was a bad idea, but I thought if Kain ran into _him_ ….it would be…."

She trailed off, eyes widening as she felt Ferio's arms wrapping around her and pulling her into a hug. Maria felt confusion flit through her even as she returned the hug. Behind the siblings, Vic and Anya shared amused glances as they realized why Ferio was hugging Maria.

" _¡Idiota!_ " Ferio whispered loud enough for Maria to hear, who flinched in shame. "You could have died. Singe is way above your level."

Red tinges appeared on Maria's face before she buried her face into her elder brother's chest. "I know. But….I couldn't let Kain get hurt. Not today of all days." She said, muffled by the armor. Ferio sighed, pressing his chin against her head.

"Kain can handle himself, _hermana._ Especially against his own brother." Ferio said, before pulling away and stepping aside, smiling fondly. Maria looked up at him in confusion, even as he jerked his head in the direction the guildmaster had walked off in. "Go after him. Vic, Anya, and I will go talk to the mayor and get help in calming the civilians down."

Maria processed that statement before smiling gratefully at Ferio and rushing past him and towards where Kain had gone. Anya and Vic both waved at her as she passed, both sporting wide grins. Maria cheekily saluted back before disappearing down the street.

"Alright, you two, off to your jobs, now." Ferio cut into their little team goodbye ritual. The pair winced, nodding rapidly while Ferio looked off into the distance, placing a hand on Pride's key, thinking about the scales lining Kain's arms.

"Kain….what the hell is going on with you?" He muttered, before walking off.

* * *

On the outskirts of town, there was a hill, with a single oak tree next to it. It was a big tree, having been planted at the town's founding and thus very old. The hill was known to the people of Dogwood as Oak Hill and people went there for a variety of reasons from seeing the view to going on a date.

Currently, Kain was visiting it to get out the remaining aggression from his encounter with Singe.

"That **fucking** psychopath! He thinks he can just…..argh!" Kain roared, before punching the oak, which shook the leaves a little and caused some acorns to fall down and hit the dragon slayer on the head. The teen simply stood there, fist resting against the tree, breathing in and out rapidly, as if he were panting.

"I knew you weren't fine, jackass." Maria's voice sounded from behind him softly. He flicked his eyes back at her, eyes widening as he realized he'd not smelled her coming, before composing himself by straightening up, letting his exposed arms fall to his sides. "It's okay to be mad, y'know. You're still human."

"Am I, Maria?" Kain asked softly, vulnerable. "You know what my magic's doing to me."

"Kain, I can't say I know what you're going through," Maria began, moving forward to stand directly in front of the dragon slayer. She grabbed his hands with her own, running her thumbs over the scales lining the back of his hands softly, ignoring his visible flinch at the touch. "But I do know that you were the first guy to talk to me back when us Sands first joined the guild. I know that you were the first one to help entertain Santy and Sofy back when it was only Ferio and I who were able to take care of them. I know that you were the one who volunteered to help me when my magic first manifested and helped me to become the person I am today. I _know_ that you were the one who challenged your own grandmother for the right to be called master to protect not only our guild's reputation but to protect us because of the Bosco Incident."

Kain jolted as Maria tilted his head up to make direct eye contact. He was more startled as her eyes relayed fierce determination and loyalty.

"Kain, you're more human than all of us and don't you dare forget that." She finished her speech fiercely, gripping his hands tightly. Kain blinked, stunned, even as little drops of moisture fell from his eyes. She sighed and pulled him into a hug. "Now, if you'd stop being a huge baby about it."

That earned her a choked laugh from the master before he pulled away, grinning at his best friend.

"Thank you, Maria. Now, how about you head back to the guild?" Kain said, raising a hand when she opened her mouth to protest. "I'll be right behind you. I just…want to take in this view one more time."

She nodded before turning away, heading back down the hill. Kain watched her go, before looking at his arms, which had turned over to ice already, and were beginning to crack.

"Well, boss man, hope you know what you're doing." The ice clone muttered before his full body turned into light blue translucent ice and shattered, leaving ice sparkles to fall onto the hill.

* * *

 **Somewhere in Dogwood**

The real Kain Embers finished pulling up the cloak around his head when he jolted, memories from the clone rushing into his head like water, emotions threatening to overrule his sense of judgement. He even had to put a hand on the wall of the alley to steady himself, just as a grin overtook his previous serious expression.

"Thank you, Maria." He muttered under his breath before pushing himself off the wall and brushing past an exiting patron of the _Night Vulcan_ bar, heading for the corner booth where he saw a flash of red hair and an angry, concerned face, and braced himself for a barrage of questions.

* * *

Back on Oak Hill, two new arrivals stood next to the tree, overlooking the town. One was female, with a lithe body of 5'9", with red hair pulled back into a ponytail. She wears a sleeveless salmon blouse with a ruffle at the top and a high neckline with white jeans and black-soled white suede shoes. A large royal blue pendent on a necklace lies around her neck, while she inhales on a cigarette before grabbing it with her left hand, revealing a guild's mark in royal blue. A simple katana with a wooden handle and sheath was attached to her belt. The other was a middle-aged man, in good shape and with greying hair, floating on a tangible cloud.

"Iov-Pater." The girl said simply.

"Yes, Charlotte?" The man replied.

Charlotte Armand, S-Class mage of Siren's Voice, smiled fondly down at her adopted home.

"It's good to be home."

 **A/N: Fin! So yeah, trying out a bit of a longer chapter! Hope you like the characters introduced, especially the introduction of the first group of antagonists of the story! Also, more plot/development for certain things.**

 **Read and Review!**


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